THE HOME ACRE 69 



a large commodious house with ell, a barn forty by 

 seventy feet, with eighteen-foot posts and a nine-foot 

 basement, and a poultry house twelve by one hundred 

 and forty feet, divided in ten-foot sections. Each pen 

 contains twenty fowls and the house, which has an 

 alley at the back, is built in a unique manner. The 

 farm contains one hundred acres and is pleasantly 

 situated. 



The Garden of a Hustler. — Accounts of gardens 

 in the semi-arid parts of the prairie states show that 

 a good supply of vegetables can be produced without 

 irrigation, although the drawbacks are considerable. 

 One of the best gardens under such conditions is 

 described by A. T. Giauque, Nebraska, third regular 

 prize winner. His plot of less than one-seventh acre 

 gave him produce worth about forty-two dollars, from 

 which his expenses, excluding such items as photo- 

 graphs, etc., pertaining exclusively to the contest, left 

 him a profit of tw^enty dollars and fifty-four cents. 

 The illustration shows the garden and homestead with 

 Mr. and Mrs. Giauque on duty among the vegetables. 

 Their several assistants are seen in the carriage and 

 the doorway of the house. Besides the garden, the 

 Giauque family managed two hundred and seventy- 

 seven acres of farm crops, with the help of a hired man. 



The fresh prairie soil was so rich that manure was 

 not wanted. The plot was enclosed w^ith w'oven slat 

 fencing at a cost of twenty dollars. Soil w^as made 

 very fine with harrow and rake. Cultivation was 

 thorough and frequent, much of the work being done 

 with wheel hoes. This thorough and frequent culture 

 seems to be the main difference between Mr. Giauque's 

 garden and the numerous unsuccessful gardens of 

 the dry regions. 



Writing June i, 1901, Mr. Giauque says: I 

 mulched strawl^erries, parsnips, grapevines and shrub- 



